Two articles on Middle East featured in `Seeds for the Parish'

I just noticed two articles in Seeds for the Parish, the resource newspaper of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), January-February 2010 edition. Sorry these didn't get my attention earlier.

Each issue of Seeds for the Parish contains articles about resources that can help congregations in their worship, service, and ministries.

Articles on health and wellness in the Middle East and new resources on the Peace Not Walls website are in the publication at this link: http://www.elca.org/~/media/Files/Seeds%20for%20the%20Parish/seeds100102_pdf.aspx

I can't link you to individual articles because the newspaper is presented in pdf form in its entirety.

Here's the way the article starts, but do go to the full article.

Health and wellness in the Middle East
Whether it is from a hospital bed on the Mount of Olives, the Peace Center for the Blind in Jerusalem or a youth-empowerment program for Sudanese refugees in Cairo, the ELCA is helping the blind to see, the broken to heal and the oppressed to become empowered and free from violence in the Middle East. ELCA mission personnel work hand-in-hand with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL, http://www.elcjhl.org/) the Lutheran World Federation (LWF, http://www.lwfjerusalem.org/) in Jerusalem and St. Andrew’s Refugee Services in Cairo.

Please go to page four at this link for the full article: http://www.elca.org/~/media/Files/Seeds%20for%20the%20Parish/seeds100102_pdf.aspx

New resources for Peace Not Walls campaign
At the newly designed Web page - www.elca.org/peacenotwalls/resources - you can find:
• a new flier describing ideas for congregations to engage in the Holy Land;
• downloadable fliers from theELCJHL
• user guides that suggest a format for educational sessions for:
-a single adult forum;
-a three-part adult forum;
-a single youth forum;
-a single young adult forum;
-a single forum for women;
-a single forum on Holy Land travel resources; and
-a single forum on theological issues.

Other organizations and denominations have produced resources that are helpful but that may notcompletely reflect ELCA positions:

• The DVD “New Hope for Peace: What America Must Do to End the Israel-Palestine Conflict” tells the story of our American statesmen: Jimmy Carter, James Baker, Brent Scowcroft and Zbigniew Brzezinski. You can preview the video at YouTube. [To receive a free copy, contact the Foundation for Middle East Peace - http://www.fmep.org/resources/publications-1/new-hope-for-peace-what-america-must-do-to-end-the-israel-palestine-conflict]

• “Steadfast Hope: The Palestinian Quest for Just Peace,” produced by the Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), is a 44-page booklet containing an 80-minute DVD in eight chapters. [You can view the video and download fact sheets at this link: http://www.israelpalestinemissionnetwork.org/hope.php]

Seed for the Parish is sent to ELCA congregational leaders six times a year.

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To receive regular bulletins from Ann Hafften, go the the blog: A Texas Lutheran's Voice for Peace: http://www.blogspot.voicesforpeace.com/